Bellevue rolls to 51-point victory

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Behind a trio of double-figure scorers, the Bellevue University men's basketball team cruised to an 89-38 victory over Union Adventist University on Saturday afternoon at the BU Fieldhouse.

With the victory, Bellevue improves to 3-0 on the young season while Union Adventist drops to 0-2 with the loss.

Jaden Phillips led the way with 23 points and five steals for BU, while Ahamad Bynum scored 20, grabbed six rebounds, and had two steals. Jermaine Haliburton scored 15 off the bench and added a trio of steals.

RJ Smith finished one point shy of a double-double, totaling nine points and 14 rebounds, with 11 boards coming on the offensive end.

Following a slow offensive start for both teams, Bellevue picked up with a 12-0 run midway through the first half to take a 20-8 lead with 8:50 remaining in the period. It was part of a larger 31-5 spurt that lasted until the 2:45 mark, as BU grew the lead to 26 points. A couple of free throws and a layup from Michael Boit closed out the first half scoring for Union Adventist, while Bynum drained a pair of free throws as the Bruins took a 44-17 lead into the break.

Bellevue kept its foot on the gas to open the second period, outscoring the Warriors 25-4 over the first 8:05 to run its lead to 48 at 69-21. That run included 16-straight points in under four minutes.

BU worked everyone who was dressed into the game and managed to hold their guests to just one field goal over the final 6:49.
In total, 14 of 16 Bruins to appear in the game recorded a point for BU. The Bruins finished plus-21 on the glass (55-34) and plus-14 in turnovers (10-24).

The Bruins limited Union Adventist to just 29% shooting from the floor and 0-17 from beyond the arc while shooting 41% and 12-41 from deep themselves.

Chris Johnson and JP Grubbs scored 10 apiece to lead the Warriors, while Grubbs pulled down a team-best six rebounds.

Bellevue returns home next weekend to host the Fairfield Inn & Suites Downtown Classic. The Bruins tip off against Ozark Christian College at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7, and again at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8, against Mission University to close out the event.